Father
by Alien Altered
Summary: He was her father long before their parents wed.


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**Disclaimer: **I can't even afford to buy books at the moment, so I definitely don't own these guys.

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The first time you ever met Serena, you were late to pick Chuck up from school; it was his first day of prep, and you'd promised to be there when class let out. You were expecting to find him waiting broodingly for you when you did arrive, but instead you found him running around the oval with a little blonde girl. The girl had a long blonde ponytail, held in place by a purple ribbon, and was laughing along with your son. You watched as Chuck's hand wrapped around her arm slyly and yanked her onto the ground. Sighing deeply you began to walk forward, expecting to find the girl in tears; instead you found her sitting on top of Chuck trying to shove grass down his shirt. Both children had large smiles in place, and seemed to be having a lot of fun. When Chuck saw you his smile dimmed, "Father." Serena looked up at you with big round eyes and slid off your son's chest. Kneeling down to the children's level, you smiled at the little girl. "Hello. My name is Bart Bass. I'm Chuck's father." She grinned sheepishly back and stuck out her hand

"Hi. I'm Serena." You shook her hand and she looked at Chuck, whose response was to laugh and say.

"You both already know who I am, so I'm not going to bother." Under Serena's stare he sighed and shook his head. "I'm Chuck Bass." At which Serena erupted in giggles and threw a handful of grass at him. Her jeans were stained with mud and grass, just like Chucks, and you were overjoyed to find a girl who didn't care if she was grimy.

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The next time you met the little blonde was on Father's Day. You'd cleared your schedule for the day to attend the schools functions. Arriving, you were surprised to see so many other fathers. Finding you, Chuck motioned for you to bend down. You did so, and he whispered in your ear, asking if Serena could do all the activities with you. Of course you'd nodded and he'd run off with a smile and look of gratitude you hadn't witnessed for months. He came back with the blonde girl attached to his hand, and she'd remembered your name from the first time you'd met. You spent the day doing the silly activities the school had organised, such as colouring in, baking, drawing, races, and story reading.

By the end of the day, Serena's blue t-shirt was covered in mess and her face had flour handprints, made by Chuck, on it. In retaliation, Serena dumped a cup of flour on your sons head. You knew you should be mad, but all you could do was laugh, because you hadn't seen your son this happy for months.

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She slept over for Chuck's eighth birthday. She'd skipped through your door with 'Smurf' PJ's and a duffel bag tucked under her arm, and greeted you with a cheery "Hi!" Dashing to find Chuck, she'd presented him with a small gift; a chequered scarf. It became a staple in your son's wardrobe, and it was the item of clothing he wore most.

When Chuck blew out the candles on his oversized cake at his party a polite round of claps surrounded around the room; it was sad really how polite eight year olds were, when you were eight you were climbing trees and causing havoc. You couldn't help but smile when Serena yelled loudly, "Now, let's eat!!" While the other girls picked at their cake or even ate none (even at age seven-eight they were conscious of their weight) Serena went back for thirds, dancing around to the live band and dragging your son to the dance floor, jumping like no one was watching and singing as loud as they could.

You found them hours after the party had finished, asleep on your lounge with Serena's shoes discarded carelessly near the door and Chuck's arm wrapped around her waist. The bright grin on Serena's face made you just as happy as the content little smile on your son's.

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You're not sure what happened but suddenly Serena stopped coming around, and any mention of her name sent your son into a mood. Chuck's smile became duller and duller and the house became quieter and quieter. Serena had been a part of both your lives for so long that it was strange without her bright laugh colouring the corners of your house. Instead Chuck brought home a little blonde boy, a boy who played by the rules, who was always courteous and well dressed. But he never filled the silent section of your heart the same was Serena had.

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It'd been four years since Serena had entered your house without their being a party, four years since you'd had a proper conversation, when out of the blue she called you at one in the morning. Her voice shook slightly as she quietly asked for your help.

You posted her bail and the cop uncuffed her hands, allowing the blonde out of her cage. She threw her arms around you and shook softly, whispering her thanks into your shirt. When you turned down her promise of reimbursement she instead bought you breakfast at a nearby café. She looked at you through guilty eyes and promised she'd never do it again, waiting for you to yell. Instead you stayed silent for a few minutes before nodding your head in belief and sipping your coffee. You cast out a sigh when she asked you to not tell Chuck, but her eyes were so lonely that you just had to grant her wish.

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However you found her a few weeks later, stumbling across the road with shoes dangling from her hands and hair messed. She was so high on drugs and alcohol and whatever else that it took no convincing at all to get her in your car.

When you escorted her through your door you called Chuck's name loudly through the quiet house. He must have heard the urgency in your voice because he emerged down the stairs shortly after, pausing briefly as he found you supporting Serena before hurrying forward. He took her from your arms and carried her to his room as you ventured to get water and bagels. When you returned you discovered the blonde in your son's shirt and a pair of his boxers, but said nothing as he held a wet cloth to her forehead. He handed you the letter he had found in her pocket and you lashed out at a nearby wall as anger coursed unbridled through your veins.

With the letter returned to Serena's dress but the words burnt into your brain you tracked down William van der Woodsen and gave him a call. You threatened him with everything you had to stay away from Serena. He wasn't to ask her for money, he wasn't to mention anything about her being the reason he left, he wasn't to see her or talk to her or contact her in any way. And a thousand dollars to some old friends ensured an instant phone call whenever he travelled.

Returning to find Serena asleep against Chuck's chest you pulled the blanket over their bodies and placed a kiss on their foreheads.

A thankyou card arrived a few days later, and months after that you got a birthday card signed with your favourite blonde's name.

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By the time you married her mother you already thought of her as your daughter, you had since she'd given you that fathers' day card in year one. She was your daughter long before you even met her mother. Just as you were her father long before you and Lilly wed.

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**Note: **So… What do you think?


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